Chapter Text
Wally couldn’t remember how long he had been roaming Earth as a ghost. He wasn’t sure how he had died either, but he assumed he was around his 20s when it all happened. All he could remember was that he woke up one day in a snow-covered mountain and that he should have been freezing. Wally had rushed to the closest town to seek help but quickly realize that something was wrong. Nobody seemed to notice him.
Coming to term with the idea of being a ghost was odd.
Wally searched the area where he had woken up for any clues that would hint at who he was but only discovered that he left no footsteps in the snow. When jogging his memory, Wally could picture a vague image of a busy city, so he opted to look for it.
“Roaming across the country wasn’t so bad,” The young ghost commented. “I’m sure you know the exciting feeling that comes with exploring and sneaking inside places you aren’t supposed to enter.”
Wally was slumped on a couch covered with a plain, white sheet covered in dust. The room was deserted save for the cat that was sitting on the old, abused rug. “Take this place; for example, Nobody ever comes around save for a few strays.” Wally waved his hand casually in the air. “Note that I’m not using that word as an insult. You’re a pretty cute cat.”
The feline’s fur was short and grey with stripes. She blinked slowly as if she was acknowledging Wally’s compliment. Her eyes were of a fierce yellow, and her chest adorned a simple white spot that matched the ones on her toes. She had snuck into the abandoned house through the cracked window, and upon noticing Wally, she had let out a little chirp. Wally had been talking to her for who knows how long, but the cat seemed to enjoy his presence and, unlike many others, had been polite enough to stay to offer him a listening ear.
“Where was I again? Oh yeah, the city.” Wally smiled. “That’s when the fun really started for me. I had to make my body – for lack of word – forget some of its reflexes. One time as I was crossing the road, I almost got hit by a car. I thought to myself, “that’s it. This is the end.” But the car went right through me.” The adult laughed at the memory. “It was nuts! Also, I had to remind myself that I could go through the doors. I can’t tell you how long I spent trying to activate the automatic door by jumping in front of it.”
The kitty began to lick one of her paws.
“Yeah, I also discovered that I didn’t need to shower too. I mean, in the state that I am in I can’t sweat or get dirty. I can’t even get wet; the rain passes right through me.” The man smirked. “I bet you’re jealous.”
As if she was a little annoyed, the feline put her paw down and looked at him with what looked like a frown. This only made Wally chuckle more.
“I have to admit; the livings don’t give your kind enough credit. We say that dogs are man’s best friend, but I think that cats are ghosts’ favourites.” Wally readjusted himself on the couch, his forearms resting on his knees as he hunched his back. “Most dogs just bark at me and freak out their owners. That’s pretty much all human interaction I get.” The young adult looked a little sad at that. “It gets lonely sometimes.”
The cat stood up and hopped on the couch next to him, her front paws kneading the sheet before she turned into a “cat loaf.”
“I tried to live with other peoples. You can think of it as a roommate situation.” Wally tried petting the cat although he knew full well he couldn’t interact. “One time, I stayed with that sweet little lady. She was probably in her seventies, and she was the spitting image of what we call a crazy cat lady. She had eight children, and all of them were cats.” He watched as his guest closed her eyes, preparing herself for a snooze. “Just like you, they all could see me. There was that one white one; I think it was some Persian. His had a smushed face and his tongue always stuck out a little.” Wally tried to reproduce the cat’s face by grimacing. “I think he hated me. Anytime we would make eye contact; he would hiss and run away. The poor dude got put on some meds by the vet as they thought he had some behaviour issues.”
The petite feline looked up at him, her yellow eyes half closed. “Yeah, I did leave them alone eventually. I was tired of the old lady always sitting on me when I was relaxing on our Lazy boy.” Wally leaned back on the couch, his expression turning melancholic as he continued. “I went through a few different roommates. Some had kids too. There was that three-year-old who could see me and wanted us to play with dolls when she felt lonely. Her name was Lizzie; her parents were a little concerned about her “imaginary friend.” Wally scoffed. “I don’t blame them, but I opted to leave before it caused too many problems for my little buddy.” He looked at the cat, his tone becoming slightly upset. “Of course I said goodbye! What kind of ghost do you take me for? I checked on her a couple of times, she had made a lot of friends and seemed very happy.”
Wally crossed his arms. “There were also a few teenagers. One night they were playing with an Ouija board, so I decided to spook them a bit.” He turned his face toward the cat. “Oh, as if you wouldn’t take the opportunity yourself!”
The two remained quiet for a few minutes, they listened to the birds singing and the muted noise of cars driving by.
“There was that one guy, though.” Wally started again. “He was a few years younger than me. Fresh out of school.” A fond smile formed on his face.
“He was beautiful.”
Wally began to tell the Ms. Crooked Whiskers – that was the name he gave to the cat – about how the two had met. As he was ghosting around a small café, Wally peered over an older gentleman’s shoulder to read the newspapers. There was a column with many ads, and one of them was of a nineteen years old looking for a roommate. How convenient, Wally thought, I have been looking for a new roomie as well! Memorizing the address, he steered himself toward his future apartment.
The apartment turned out to be a duplex. It was in a quiet street with a lot of green; a modest patio set was welcoming him by the entrance. He smiled at the two chairs; hopefully, that meant no one would sit on him when he decided to sunbathe.
Wally had a good feeling about it; now, all he had to hope for was to have a pleasant roommate. “Don’t mind me visiting!” He cheered as he passed through the door.
The room was filled with labelled cardboard boxes; some were still sealed with tape, others were opened but not yet emptied, and finally, there were a few flattened boxes neatly placed by the entrance. Alright, so there was still some work to do, but that didn’t phase Wally much. Walking straight through the hall, Wally wondered if someone was home yet. The layout of the duplex was rather simple; the hall gave to a spacious living room that had an open kitchen, a set of stairs lead up to what he assumed was the bedrooms and washroom. Before going upstairs, Wally looked for some clues as to who was moving in by eyeing the various objects displayed. There were a few coupons on the door of the fridge that was held by a magnet. Wally smiled as he saw that the magnet portrayed a UFO with “I want to believe” written around it. Great, so he wouldn’t be the only nerd living here. There was also a very well done drawing of a realistic dog portrait – a Great Dane possibly? Wally wasn’t familiar with dog breeds, but whatever this dog was, he looked as majestic as a king.
Still, in the kitchen, Wally noted the half-empty coffee pot and the empty bottle of milk. 2%, huh?
Once he was done looking over the kitchen, Wally went to the mess that was the living room. He noticed that the tv wasn’t yet plugged in, the clock was four hours late to the actual time, and a book was on the coffee table. There was also a half-eaten bowl of cute, colourful cereals that were shaped as little dinosaurs, Wally noticed with a smile. The more he looked at the person’s belonging, the less he knew what he should expect.
Heading upstairs, Wally found a few more boxes spread around. He peeked inside the open room which had, surprise! More boxes! There was an unmade bed that was big enough to fit two adults and a small bedside table with a framed picture. Upon looking closer to the image, Wally realized that it was of a rather big family. On the far right and standing behind the couch, an older gentleman with grey hair and a mustache stood with a perfect posture that would make any chiropractor proud. One of his hands was placed behind his back while the other rested on the headrest. The second oldest person in the picture looked slightly familiar, but Wally couldn’t quite pinpoint as to why. He was well built, a square jaw that accentuated a confident smile and his intense blue eyes. At his foot, Wally recognized the dog from the drawing he had seen earlier. The massive dog was laying down with half of its body resting on what seemed like the youngest person in the photo. The kid must have been around twelve years old; he looked like he was arguing with another of the boys as he pushed his leg away. In total, Wally counted five boys and three girls. They all looked different from each other, but Wally was pretty sure this was meant to be a family picture. Looking across the room, he wondered which one of the kids was moving in.
His eyes set on a terrarium. Wally wondered what was living inside and suddenly was curious to know if the creature would be able to see him as most mammals seemed to. It took him a few minutes to find the inhabitant of the terrarium; the first thing he saw was a thin tongue popping out of a hideout. Then the snake popped its head out and looked at him curiously. Its scales were a combination of orange, red, golden yellow. It had interesting patterns with the borders being made of black scales. Wally thought it was pretty cute and watched as the reptile curved its neck slightly. He didn’t know much about snake behaviour, so he assumed that was the snake’s version of a head tilt. “Hey, there little buddy.” He whispered as he placed a finger against the glass, forgetting for a moment that his hand would easily pass through.
There was a sudden clicking noise coming from behind him and, as Wally turned slightly to look over his shoulder, he saw one of the boys from the picture standing at the door. He was dripping wet; a blue towel hung around his hips. His skin had a lovely tan to it and harboured a few scars. His hair was dark as a raven’s plumage, and his eyes were lively blue. Wally couldn’t help himself but gaze at the beautiful muscle definitions for a moment until he remembered about the gun. The gun that was in the guy’s hands and that was pointing right at his head. The realization knocked the breath out of his lungs as he realized that the young man was staring right at him. He watched as the stranger opened his mouth ever so slightly and asked:
“Who are you, and how did you get inside my home?”